Florida Man Reportedly Decapitated When Helicopter Suddenly Dipped As He Was Performing Maintenance On It

A Florida man was reportedly decapitated after a helicopter he was performing maintenance on suddenly and unexpectedly jerked upward and then dipped down, authorities say.

The fatal accident took place at the Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport on Thursday afternoon. As WFTS Tampa reported, 61-year-old Salvatore Disi was working on the helicopter when the aircraft had an unexpected malfunction, leading it to crash into him.

The Federal Aviation Administration reported that the victim was on the ground at the time of the accident, and a witness who called in the accident said he and another man were using a power cart to jumpstart the helicopter. Authorities arrived to find the man dead.

Images from the scene showed a blue helicopter parked on a concrete runway surrounded by police cars and a U-Haul truck. It was not clear exactly what the maintenance workers were doing, or if someone was piloting the helicopter at the time of the fatal accident.